Noomi Rapace and Colin Farrell appear in a scene from the movie 'Dead Man Down.' / JOHN BAER GANNETT

by Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

by Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

As a gritty thriller, Dead Man Down doesn't stand out among its bullet-riddled brethren.

It's more notable for its weird moments and strange obsessions. Two that jump out are a repeated discussion of Tupperware and packs of exceptionally nasty children who attack a mildly scarred woman and tauntingly call her "Monster."

The mood grows livelier when the iconic French actress Isabelle Huppert thanks Viktor for bringing back her Tupperware, lamenting how no one ever returns it. Oddly, Huppert's character is described as deaf, but once her malady is introduced, she seems to be able to hear as well as anyone else (even when not wearing her hearing aid).

Those with even the mildest rodent aversion may want to leave the theater during a scene in which a dozen fat rats are unleashed to feast on a blindfolded man. As a means of torture, those vermin make a more indelible impression than the bevy of ammunition and explosive devices detonated throughout the rest of the drama

Director Niels Arden Oplev, the Danish filmmaker who made the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, spins a drab, albeit blood-soaked, tale of vengeance set in contemporary New York City's criminal underworld.

Viktor is a gangland figure, part of a crime syndicate headed by the ruthless Alfonse (Terrence Howard). But Viktor's got a complicated reason for keeping such bad company. He's single-minded about decimating Alfonse's happy life for reasons we'll refrain from spoiling

Beatrice is a lonely woman who lives with her mother (Huppert) in an apartment across from Viktor's. They wave awkwardly at each other, have a stilted conversation on the phone and an equally clumsy first date.

Seemingly fragile, Beatrice has been choked with rage since a drunken driver hit her, resulting in some not terribly extensive facial scars (which seem to change from scene to scene). Both she and Viktor are grieving lost souls with a bloodthirsty bent. How better to strike up a romance?

Violent plans are plotted and carried out. Rats scurry over a man's torso, digging into his neck and face. Tupperware-centered conversations ensue.

Amid all this are points that don't quite track, characters that go undeveloped and far-fetched scenarios that take the viewer out of the film. And there's vengeance - lots of it.

The screenplay was written by J.H. Wyman, the showrunner for the cult TV show Fringe. The dialogue rings hollow, much like the actors' performances. Suspense never builds as it should. The film feels as if it started in the middle.

With an impressive international cast, Dead Man Down yearns to be both edgy and action-packed. It comes up short on both counts.

Farrell doesn't say much, but communicates mightily with his expressive brown eyes. He and Rapace don't have heaps of chemistry, though they play their roles well.

Dead Man Down seeks to come to a final resting place of redemption. But an attempt at an uplifting ending rings hollow after the antics of voracious rats and scores of ammo sent whizzing.